City Paper's 2016 Holiday Event Guide

Illustration by Jon Marchione

Illustration by Jon Marchione

Two weeks ago in our annual Holiday Gift Guide, City Paper told you what to buy for your loved ones, work buddies, and acquaintances—in between processing the pending Trump presidency—and this week, City Paper offers up a list of the events you should drag your loved ones, work buddies, and acquaintances to for the holidays or what you should do alone (namely, crying—Donald Trump is our president elect). It all begins on the next page.

Our arts section meanwhile, provides a few holiday recommendations, as well. First, from Sean McTiernan, a list of 25 holiday movies that are well, not the ones you expect. Instead of "A Christmas Story," It's A Wonderful Life," or "Die Hard" and others staples that loop for all of December, we've got a gritty, obscure '60s noir such as "Blast Of Silence," very special episodes of "Homicide: Life On The Street" and "Dragnet" and 22 other picks.

As for Christmas music, there is my quick appreciation of clever country singer-songwriter Kacey Musgraves' new album, "A Very Kacey Christmas," which splits the difference between doing all the things a Christmas record is supposed to do with doing some more interesting things, such as acknowledging how melancholy the holidays are and if you buy into my reading of the record, trolling Trump supporters a little bit.

We’ve also got a look-back at Tupac Shakur’s life, 20 years after his death, by Travis Kitchen. And even Kitchens' in-depth look at the roots of Shakur's rebellious rap legacy finds some time for a Christmas story. In a 1992 interview Shakur recounts a rough Christmas in Baltimore from his childhood—he lived at 3955 Greenmount Ave. if you want to drive by and check out his childhood home—and then offers up his vision of the holidays.

“One year, I thought we didn’t get any gifts for Christmas. I was in Baltimore. We didn’t get nothing. There was a knock on my door, and my sister’s principal from her school came and had like this charity where they give the turkey to the poor family on the block. We was the poor family," Tupac recalled. "Man, that’s when I used to feel sorriest for my mother, because there was no man there. This was a woman, my mother, who had to make it merry. And there was nothing there. There wasn’t even regular dinner, let alone a Christmas dinner. It’s so hard to sell that ‘All we need is each other’ speech, especially when your stomach hurts. Christmas to me is as many people as possible happy. So I’m not saying … peace on the earth and all of that. I’m talking about just like, you know, a house full of my homies, friends, youngsters, old people, OGs, everybody just having fun, just getting your drink on. Everybody is just celebrating, reminiscing, remembering the dead, the people in jail. That’s the greatest, that’s Christmas. That’s what makes it real.” (Brandon Soderberg)

A(nother) Holiday Thing. Make Studio hosts an art market featuring fine art and craft wares from local vendors as well as Make Studio artists, plus The Drawing Zoo and Digital Harbor Foundation on site with drawing, 3-D printing, and a photo booth. Dec. 3, 2-7 p.m., Make Studio, Schwing Art Center,...

Christmas Special Radio. Spencer Humm returns for the Baltimore Christmas Special’s 14th season with live music, comedy, and more set in the style of an old radio production. Dec. 9-18, Chesapeake Arts Center, 194 Hammonds Lane, Brooklyn Park, (410) 636-6597, chesapeakearts.org, $35-$55. “A Christmas...

Baltimore Krampuslauf. Dress up as Krampus, a Christmas demon from German alpine folklore, and walk through Hampden, singing carols and spooking onlookers. Participants can also try a special Krampus ice cream flavor from The Charmery. Dec. 10, 4 p.m.-7 p.m., De Kleine Duivel, 3602 Hickory Ave.,...

Glitter has two primary but typically very separate uses: wholesome holiday craftmaking and sexy stuff. But why can't those things be one and the same? After all, you still need to come up with a gift, or at least a card for your beau, or beau-to-be, or fuckbuddy. So grab your glue and lube and...

There’s not much I can say about “A Christmas Carol” at this point. You either know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Charles Dickens’ most famous miser and all-around jerk, or you don’t—and if that’s the case then bah, humbug to you, too. Since its publication in 1843, Dickens’ story of greed, redemption,...

Yes, Virginia, there is indeed such a thing as too much family togetherness at this time of year. Get the little ones out of the house and channel some of that holiday, um, enthusiasm into kid-friendly activities at Creative Alliance’s Kwanzaa Family Day. Make art, enjoy performances, and participate...

The maker movement keeps building, and the XXChange Pop-Up, the closing event of the month-long "XXChange" exhibition held nextdoor at Area 405, offers up goods handmade by woman-identifying makers for you to take home. As you shop, be sure to also catch the exhibition, which showcases 30 regional...

“Everybody’s got a story,” Stoop founders Laura Wexler and Jessica Henkin insist. “What’s yours?” Since 2006, Wexler and Henkin have been gathering local storytellers and hosting their Stoop Storytelling series in theatrical venues around the city—The Creative Alliance, Center Stage, the Meyerhoff,...